By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

Elbert Curtis Jackson was born on August 2, 1918, in Lenoir County, N.C., to Joel Lane and Ruth Dail Jackson. By 1920, the Jackson family was living in Kinston, N.C., where Joel Jackson was operating the Jackson Mattress Company which he had founded in 1913. In 1933, Elbert Jackson began working for his father in the mattress company at age 15. By 1935, it appears the Jackson family had moved to Fayetteville, N.C., and brought their company to the city as well. …

By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

Randall A. McLeod Jr. was born on September 19, 1921, in Fayetteville, N.C., to Randall A. and Lucy Worth Currie McLeod. In 1927, the McLeod family had moved to the city of Maxton in Robeson County, N.C., where Randal McLeod Sr. served as the first president of Presbyterian Junior College for Men (which opened in 1927). McLeod Sr. was the former superintendent of Elise Academy in the community of Elise (present-day Robbins) in Moore County, N.C. In 1932, Randall McLeod Sr. …

By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

Editor’s Note: The Military Collection at the State Archives of North Carolina not only collects papers of military veterans from North Carolina, but also materials from out-of-state service individuals while they were stationed at North Carolina military installations. The goal is to have records where service individuals talk, photograph, or otherwise provide information on what life and training was like at North Carolina installations. This was the case with the following soldier, Earl W. Meier from Wisconsin, while he was stationed at Camp Butner, NC.

Earl W. Meier was born on October 13, 1921, in Wisconsin to Alfred W. and Loraine Meier. By 1930, the Meier family was living in the town of West Allis in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, where Alfred Meier was working as a brakeman on a railroad. Earl Meier was inducted into military service for World War II in the U.S. Army on August 11, 1942, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. …

By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

Christmas 2020 — a phrase I’m sure a lot of us felt like we would not be able to reach when the start of the COVID-19 pandemic hit us all around February and March 2020. Now that it’s here, we would like to reflect on how military service members stationed at North Carolina military installations, separated from their families and friends, celebrated the holidays in past years. Specifically, we used a selection of four Christmas unit and base menus covering the tulmultuous decade 1940 to 1950. …

By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

Colon William Casper Jr. was born on September 24, 1923, in the small community of Wakefield, NC (part of present-day Zebulon, NC), to Colon William and Nettie Belle De Berry (or Deberry) Casper. Before his birth, the Casper family lived all over, including in Bertie County, NC. By 1930, the Casper family was living in the town of Roanoke Rapids in Halifax County, NC, with Colon Casper Sr.’s sister. At that time, Colon Casper Sr. …

By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

In efforts to raise moral at U.S. military installations during World War II, base commanders and unit commanders held fun events, parades, dances, and sporting exhibitions and championships. Some held themed holiday meals and commemorations to give the men and women a chance to unwind form the rigors of military service. Halloween balls were quite popular during WWII, such as one held at Camp Lejeune, NC, in 1943. There was also another theme that was quite popular on bases — the “circus” theme. During the time of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we can probably all take a nod from the U.S. military’s themed holidays. One that was especially interesting was the Thanksgiving Day circus held at the U.S. Naval Air Station (LTA) Weeksville in Elizabeth City, NC, in 1943. …

By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

A lot of people in North Carolina who have attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill know the name Robert B. House. Not only was he a long-time administrator of the university, but his name adorns the school’s undergraduate library — the Robert B. House Undergraduate Library. But very few people know that before his time serving for what is now the State Archives of North Carolina as the World War I Records Collector between 1919 and 1920, House served as an officer in World War I. …

By Matthew M. Peek, Military Collection Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina

Today marks the 79th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, during World War II. Now officially known as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, it is difficult after all these years to tell a new story or share a new aspect of the event that hasn’t been shared before. Specific to North Carolina, we have in the past shared the story of Weldon C. Burlison of Yancey County. Burlison was reported with a big front page headline in his hometown newspaper The Yancey Record (Burnsville, NC) on December 11, 1941 “Weldon Burleson Is First War Casualty.” …